49ers Defense when yardage and scoring count

My league assigns points for defenses when they hold teams to under 200 yards, under 300 yards, etc. as well as holding teams to a shut out, less than 7 points etc. The scoring for these categories easily outweighs the value of takeaways.

After putting in this scoring and running Kubiak, the 49ers defense ended up ranked 9th, behind the likes of the Packers, Seahawks, and Giants (Steelers were #1, which I could easily understand).

My question is, given that the 49ers were the second best scoring defense last year and return most of their starters, why would they be ranked so low? Is it due to schedule? Or an calculated regression?

Thanks!

Posted by: lscotch85 on 16 Aug 2012

1 reply , Last at
17 Aug 2012, 5:41pm by
Zac

1

Re: 49ers Defense when yardage and scoring count

by Zac :: Fri, 08/17/2012 - 5:41pm

Yeah, a lot is probably schedule strength. FOA 2012 says that sacks and interceptions are the only defensive statistics with any sort of consistency, and furthermore says that schedule strength is very important for fantasy defenses. They give the 49ers the 26th easiest schedule, with games against the 3 teams projected for the most wins (New England, Green Bay, and Chicago), as well as 4 more against other likely playoff teams.